These postcodes are the most likely to be burgled in the UK – is yours on the list?

The Birmingham postcode district, B95, topped the list as the area with the most burglary claims (Photo: Shutterstock)

Claire Schofield

Published:11:50 amJanuary 11, 2019

Burglaries in the UK are on the rise, but some postcodes around the country are at higher risk of of targeting, new data has revealed.

A study by price comparison website MoneySuperMarket calculated a 16 per cent national increase in rates of theft, with Henley-in-Arden (on the outskirts of Birmingham) topping the list as the UK’s most popular burglary claims hotspot.

Burglary hotspots

UK burglaries have risen to a rate of 15.57 claims per 1,000 quotes in 2018, up from just 13.42 in 2017, according to MoneySuperMarket.

The company analysed more 2.5 million home insurance quotes from the last two years, identifying the Birmingham postcode district B95 as the area with the most burglary claims, with a rate of 50.46 claims per 1,000 quotes.

Areas of Edinburgh (EH4), Leeds (LS8) and Manchester (M21) also ranked highly, all featuring in the top 10, with more than 43.98 claims per 1,000 quotes.

Woking postcode district GU23 is a new entry into the top 20 this year, sitting in seventh place, while last year’s top burglary hotspot, Guilford (GU3), has fallen out of the top rankings and now sits in 171st place.

A second Birmingham postcode district, B94, also features among the top 20, with 45.80 claims per 1,000 quotes.

Despite many areas of Birmingham featuring heavily in the most burgled locations in the UK, only three per cent of residents say they feel unsafe in their homes.

The highest postcode districts for contents claims on home insurance policies

B95, Henley-in-Arden – 50.46 claims per 1,000 quotes

CM4, Ingatestone – 49.76 claims per 1,000 quotes

IG5, Ilford – 47.56 claims per 1,000 quotes

EH4, Edinburgh – 46.43 claims per 1,000 quotes

LS8, Leeds – 46.30 claims per 1,000 quotes

B94, Solihull – 45.80 claims per 1,000 quotes

GU23, Woking – 45.30 claims per 1,000 quotes

SK8, Cheadle – 45.29 claims per 1,000 quotes

EH15, Edinburgh – 43.99 claims per 1,000 quotes

M21, Manchester – 43.98 claims per 1,000 quotes

CB5, Cambridge – 43.48 claims per 1,000 quotes

M20, Manchester – 42.92 claims per 1,000 quotes

BS7, Bristol – 42.79 claims per 1,000 quotes

RH8, Oxted – 42.65 claims per 1,000 quotes

SK8, Stockport – 42.08 claims per 1,000 quotes

L16, Liverpool – 42.04 claims per 1,000 quotes

LS17, Leeds – 41.81 claims per 1,000 quotes

BS9, Bristol – 41.78 claims per 1,000 quotes

TW11, Teddington – 41.32 claims per 1,000 quotes

IG9, Buckhurst Hill – 41.28 claims per 1,000 quotes

Low risk areas

The postcode district of Whitehaven, near Carlisle (CA28), was found to have the lowest rate of burglary claims, with just 0.76 per 1,000 quotes.

Forty-four per cent of Brits failed to take any precautionary measures to protect their homes, such as installing a house alarm (Photo: Shutterstock)

The region surrounding Carlisle also featured several times among the lowest risk areas, with Cockermouth (CA13) an Mayport (CA15) ranked in third and 15th place respectively.

Other areas successfully keeping burglars at bay include Falmouth in Cornwall (TR11), with a rate of just 0.92 per 1,000 quotes, and Aberystwyth (SY23), at a rate of 1.08 per 1,000.

Precautionary measures

Despite research revealing that one in five (20 per cent) of Brits believe they live in an area where properties are burgled more than the national average, almost half have failed to take any precautionary measures to protect their homes.

Those who have been subject to a burglary in the past five years pay an average of 16.8 per cent more for their contents insurance policy, according to MoneySuperMarket analysis.

“Over the past 12 months, burglars have mostly been targeting suburbs and urban areas, with the safest areas dominated by smaller towns and villages,” said Emma Garland, data scientist at MoneySuperMarket.

“It’s surprising to see that almost half of people haven’t put any additional protection in place for their home, despite one in five believing they live in a burglary hotspot.

“For thieves, it’s all about risk versus reward – if the reward looks likely to exceed the risk, they are going to target that home.

“If you take precautions – such as fitting new door and window locks, installing bar windows where necessary and using security cameras – you can reduce both your contents insurance and your anxiety about getting burgled.”